


Blue Christmas

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Canon Divergence, Depression, Drinking, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Regrets, Sex mentioned but not explicitly pictured, walking through the woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 01:19:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17012817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Harry laments the fact that he’s going to be spending yet another Christmas alone. But someone comes back into his life to fix that problem.





	Blue Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas I love Twin Peaks

Harry sat at the counter of the Double R diner, staring into his coffee. A slow Christmas song played in the background, some woman lamenting her lover leaving her before Christmas and ruining the holiday. Though it wasn’t quite his style, and in fact if he had a quarter he would have made the jukebox play something else. But unfortunately it fit the mood he was in. 

Another Holiday season spent alone. From Thanksgiving through the new year, he spent most of his time at work to distract himself from his miserable personal life. He had no idea what his brother was doing, and his parents were dead, so he had no family to visit, and all his friends were busy with their own lives. So here he was, on Christmas Eve, sitting alone with a black cup of coffee. Later he would probably head up to the roadhouse to get smashed, before stumbling his way home and sleeping through the Christmas hangover he was bound to have.

It wasn’t the first Christmas he had spent alone, just the first one where he had regrets about it. The last year had been a doozie. First there was the Laura Palmer case, then everything went down with Windom Earle. It took the town months to recover from the trauma. Throughout that whole ordeal, FBI Special Agent Cooper has been by Harry’s side. But after the cases were over, he was called back to DC, leaving Harry alone once again. 

Dale Cooper was an enigma. Deeply spiritual, but not in the classical form of the word, and focused entirely on finding life’s truths. One of the best law enforcement officials Harry had ever worked with. And the only one he had ever fallen in love with. 

Yes, it was a mistake. One day, you’re just a small-town cop facing nothing worse than a couple of drunks and some drug problems. The next, you’re solving a murder with the FBI’s most attractive agent. Harry had recognized Dale’s attractiveness almost instantly, but it wasn’t until the man started going on about Tibet that he realized he would have liked to have known Dale as more than a friend. As time went on, it snowballed, until Harry found himself with an ache in his chest every time Dale left the room. 

Of course, he never mentioned a word of it. At the time, Harry was still seeing Josie. A woman he thought he loved. But once he started working with Dale, he realized that love wasn’t what he felt for Josie. Lust, maybe. The need for a partner. For someone to touch his skin in the heat of the night. But he didn’t love her. 

It was too late now for anything. Josie was dead, which admittedly prevented an awkward breakup, and Dale had jetted on back to DC, preventing Harry from getting anywhere with the man. After that, his life began to spiral. He drank more. Ate less. Had less interest in his hobbies. And it wasn’t just because of his depressing personal life. To see the things that Bob and Earle had done… it was something no one should have to see. A side of humanity that is so filled with hate and wanton killing that it’s a wonder anyone bothers trusting another human being at all. 

The one person Harry knew he could trust was Dale. And Dale was gone. 

Harry left a dollar on the counter for the coffee and left the diner. He took a deep breath, the smell of pine and a car’s exhaust penetrating his nostrils. The whole town always seemed to smell like a strong men’s deodorant. It smelled like home. 

Instead of going to his car, he left it in the lot and started down the street, not really thinking about where he was going. He passed some shops, looking in the windows but not really seeing. A few people passed by him. None said hello. 

Harry started down a worn dirt road into the woods. A few people lived on this road, and it was so long that by the end, the electric company didn’t even know there were houses there. An old-fashioned road, originally worn down by horses and buggies. An excellent place to clear the mind. 

It was still early enough in the morning to see a layer of fog in the trees. A few birds chirped, and occasionally the sound of rustling leaves betrayed the position of a small forest creature. Like a Thomas Kinkade painting, but more interesting.

He continued down the road, until he found an offshoot of the path, one that was too thin for cars to drive down it. An old hunting trail, slightly overgrown but still recognizable if you know where to look. 

Starting down the trail, Harry tried to focus on his surroundings. The sounds of leaves crunching below his feet. The cool winter air, betraying that a snowfall was to come. That pine scent, now completely free of any human intervention. Nature as it was meant to be experienced. 

A way’s down the road, he stopped. Checked his watch. He should be back to the office by now. Lucy would be worried about him. He would probably miss the meeting he was set to have with Hawk. 

Yes, it was time for him to return. 

Back in the office, his prediction had been correct. Lucy was incredibly worried, in the way that only Lucy could be. “See, I thought that maybe you had gotten a flat tire or something, or got into some kind of a car crash, and you were being held up real bad having to exchange your insurance information with some bozo.” 

Harry gave her a halfhearted smile. “Lucy, if there were a car wreck, you would have heard it on the police scanner.”

“I just figured no one had gotten there yet.” 

“Anyone ask for me?”

“No, however, we did get a call from Mrs Briggs, wife of the colonel, mother of Bobby, because Bobby got into some fight with some other high school kid, and got beat up.”

Harry sighed, rubbing his hand on his forehead. “Alright, write up a report and I’ll check it out later.”

“Sure thing. Anything else you need, sheriff?”

“Nothing, but you know I’ll tell you when I do.”

He made his way into his office and sat down heavily in his chair. He quickly flipped through the mail, discarding most of it. But one letter caught his eye. It had no return address, but it was addressed directly to him and not just the Sheriff’s Office. 

Ripping it open, he saw that it was a Christmas card. It had a penguin on the front, wearing a scarf and hat. On the inside had been printed “Hope your holidays aren’t too chilly!” Which Harry found to be a bit dumb. Below it was scrolled in fine handwriting, “Wishing you the best.” There was no name. 

Harry was puzzled. Part of him was sure he had seen the handwriting before, but there was nothing to say who it was from. He took the letter and brought it up to Lucy. 

“Hey, do you know who sent this letter?”

Lucy looked at it. “George Clooney?”

“What?” He paused. “I mean, did you actually see who was the one who sent this letter.”

“Nope, I just got it out of the box and left it with everything else sent to the station on your desk. Why? Is something wrong?”

“There’s just no name in it is all.”

“Huh. That’s weird. Maybe it was Santa.”

“Maybe so. Thanks, Lucy.” 

He disappeared back into his office and stared at the handwriting. Yes, he had definitely seen it before, but it wasn’t one of the deputies. Who the hell could it have been?

Putting the card onto his desk, he walked over to the window and gazed out. He was right, it had begun to snow big chunks of white. It was coming down quickly, and had already begun to accumulate. At this rate, they’d have a foot by Christmas Day. 

He went back to focusing on his work. Briefly investigating the issue with Bobby turned out to be nothing, as Bobby refused to talk about what had happened. By the end of the day, Harry had plowed through a mountain of paperwork. It was all he ever really wanted to do nowadays. 

Looking out the window again, he saw that there was a good half foot of snow on the ground, maybe even more. The wind was starting to pick up, and conditions were becoming blizzardlike. 

The rest of the station had already gone home, so no one had plowed out the parking lot. Which meant that Harry’s car was buried in six inches of snow. 

That was when Harry decided that he was going to spend the night at the station. They had a couch, it was fine. And it wasn’t like he had anywhere better to be. 

He sat back down at his chair, throwing his feet up on the desk. But he was getting restless. So he stood and walked back over towards the window. His face was reflected slightly in the glass. And it was in the reflection that he saw another figure opening the door behind him. 

“I had a feeling I’d find you here.”

Harry whipped around. “Coop?” He said incredulously. 

“Hello, Harry. I see you got my Christmas card.”

It took everything in Harry’s power not to run up to him and hug him as hard as he could. “How did you get here? There’s six inches of snow outside!”

“Took a snowmobile from the Great Northern. Fantastic machines. Can get you across the snow in seconds flat. I would have snowshoed, but the snowmobile was the faster option.”

“What are you doing here?”

Dale crossed the distance of the room so that he was face to face with Harry. Harry prayed that the man couldn’t tell how much his heart rate had sped up. “Well, it occurred to me, as I sat in my apartment back in DC, that no place has ever affected my life like Twin Peaks has. I’ve never been anywhere I’ve wanted to stay more. So I hopped on a plane, rented a car, and ended up here.”

“Just for the holidays, or-“

“I’m here to stay. If you’ll have me.” He paused. “The town, I mean.”

“Of course I’ll- we’ll have you, Coop. Could use a good lawman like you around the station.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

Harry felt his mouth go dry. “So, uh, where are you spending Christmas?”

“At the Great Northern. I hear they do some kind of a celebration in the morning. Though I wonder what type of Christmas cheer Ben Horne will come up with. But what about you?”

Harry thought about how pathetic his response was about to be. “I was going to spend the night at the station. It’s late, and my car’s all snowed in, so it’s easier than going home.”

“Don’t have anyone to go home to?”

“No.” 

“That surprises me. Smart, handsome man like you should have women falling all over you.”

“I haven’t really had any interest in dating.” He swallowed down the lump in his throat. “There was someone who caught my eye, but they didn’t feel the same, so it didn’t go anywhere.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yeah, it was.” Harry desperately hoped that Dale couldn’t tell how much he was beginning to sweat out of nervousness. “Since neither of us have anywhere else to be, would you maybe want to spend Christmas here with me? You wouldn’t have to brave the snow all the way back to the Great Northern.”

Dale grinned. “Harry, there’s nothing I would like more.”

They spent the rest of the night telling stories about what had happened in the time since they had seen each other. Dale had gone to all different types of cities, solving crime after crime. Harry’s life paled in comparison. And yet, Dale always seemed interested in his stories. He always wanted to know what Harry had to say. And Harry was more in love with him than ever. 

Sometime after midnight, after they had broken into a bottle of whiskey that Harry kept in his desk, they sat on the couch, dangerously close to each other. If Harry laughed too deeply, his knee would bang into Dale’s. But at this point he didn’t care. He had nothing to lose. 

That was when he noticed Dale’s hand on his thigh. Clearly, Dale was too tipsy to notice it had strayed, and indeed Harry didn’t discover it until he had been wondering why a certain spot on his leg was so warm. Harry looked down at Dale’s hand, and up to the other man’s eyes. They glittered in the dim light of the station. 

The world moved in slow motion as Harry leaned in and kissed Dale. And Dale kissed back. It was a messy, half-drunk kiss filled with the built-up tension that was now spilling out. Dale tasted of coffee and pie, and smelled of snow. Everything Harry had hoped for, and more. 

————————

The next morning, Harry awoke with a headache behind his eyes and a weight on his chest. He pressed his palms against his eyes, briefly releasing the pressure before it accumulated again. Opening his eyes, he saw that the weight was in fact caused by one very special agent Cooper, who was laying on top of him. The station couch was not nearly big enough for the both of them, but somehow in their drunken stupor they managed to fit themselves there. 

Harry immediately felt his heart drop into his stomach. Last night had been everything he had ever wanted. But was it what Dale wanted? Or was it just some drunken mistake, which would be laughed off and never spoken of again? 

Dale was still fast asleep, and Harry had no intention of moving him. Now he had worried himself. What if Dale left because of this? What if he never wanted to speak to Harry again, because he regretted their booze-addled fling? 

He looked down at Dale, forcing his eyes to focus. Dale’s normally slicked-back hair was all mussed up, and every so often he sighed in his sleep. Harry couldn’t help but reach down and brush a lock of hair out of his eyes. Dale was beautiful when he slept. He was beautiful when he was awake. He was a beautiful man. 

Dale’s eyes fluttered open, and Harry froze. After a moment, Dale muttered, “What time is it?”

Harry checked the watch, thankfully still on his wrist. “10:00.”

“Mmph. I’m not used to sleeping in late. Does it normally result in such a headache?”

“I think that’s the hangover.”

“Ah, yes, that would do it.” Slowly, Dale got up, and Harry felt his heart descend from his stomach into the floor. “Which one of these is mine?” Dale asked, holding up two pairs of plain, unmarked, white underwear. 

Harry groaned, throwing an arm over his face. “God, I don’t know. Pick the one you like better.”

After deciding on a pair of underpants, Dale approached Harry again. “Harry, listen. About last night.”

Harry didn’t love his arm. “You regret it. You regret it, and you want to push it all under the rug, because we were drunk.” 

“I was about to ask the same of you.” Dale must’ve put a hand on Harry’s head, because he could feel fingers running through his hair. “I don’t regret it. Not a single minute.”

Harry finally looked up at Dale. “You don’t?”

“No. If I might be frank, I’ve wanted to bone you ever since I came to Twin Peaks. But I have a feeling we were both too professional to say anything.”

Letting out a laugh, Harry reached up and stroked Dale’s cheek. “I love you.”

Dale smiled. “I love you, too.”

And, for the first time in months, Harry felt truly happy.


End file.
